This session will introduce you to the module organization, structure and assignments. You will explore the time commitments you will need to make and the skills you will develop through the duration of the module. You will also get an overview of the basic typologies of political systems based on types of governments, power, authority and legitimacy, as well as concepts of state, sovereignty and citizenship.

This session will show the historical evolution of democracy from ancient Greece to 18th century republicanism. We will discuss to which extent democracy allows for competent governance and to which extent it is no more than “the multiplication of ignorant opinions”. We will also engage in debates regarding the advantages of direct democracy and democratic representation.

During this session students will become familiar with two contemporary models of democracy: Westminster and consensus model. The session will look into the characteristics of legislative, executive and judicial branches of power as well as analyse the political parties systems the models produce. The models will be presented thorough a series of case studies.

The session will focus on the democratic political systems classified pursuant the model and role of legislative and executive. The session will also deal with the notion of political participation in liberal democracies. Students will be invited to discuss the role of political participation and its impact on contemporary politics.

In this session we will discuss different majoritarian and proportional systems and understand their impact on party systems. We will also focus on the notion of “free and fair elections” and familiarize with the international standards for democratic elections. Finally we will look into electoral systems in competitive authoritarian regimes, which use electoral exercise to reinforce legitimacy of their rule.

Oligarchy becomes a de facto political system in an increasing number of states. Oligarchy is perceived as a distortion of the "healthy" working of democracies. This session will introduce you the historical and contemporary dimensions of oligarchy. You will study the case studies of the Russian Federation and the United States.

The session will be dedicated to policy making in liberal democracies, focusing particularly on the historical and contemporary notions of populism. We will discuss the causes of populism as well as its effects.

This session will begin with recapitulation of knowledge acquired on authoritarian regimes during Y1 module “Introduction to Politics”, in preparation for more in depth study of authoritarian regimes’ characteristics and modalities in the following weeks of the module. Students will study the particularities of policy-making process in authoritarian regimes. Part of the class time will be dedicated to an in-class exercise – “Design your own liberal democracy”. Based on some key features of a hypothetical country and capitalizing on the knowledge acquired during weeks 1-7, you will be requested to design the best democratic system for it. You will need to present your design in a 10 minutes presentation supported by visual aids.

What do constitutions do? How do they work? And why are the adopted in the first place? What are the functions of constitutions? The session will be dedicated to study the role of constitutions in democratic and authoritarian regimes. Students are encouraged to perform independent study of constitutions of specific countries.

The session will give a historical and geographical perspective on types of monarchies. You will become familiar with political systems of absolute and constitutional monarchies as well as with political system of emirates and federal monarchies.

Religion plays an important role in state affairs, especially in Muslim countries. Yet, theocracy as a political system is recognized in very few. The Islamic Republic of Iran is the most prominent example of this kind of system and it will serve as a case study in class.

Political systems are determined by a country’s territorial structure and vice versa. Therefore in this session you will be introduced to different typologies of political systems according to the territorial structure of a country. You will become acquainted with the characteristics of unitary states, federations and confederations. The political system of the European Union will be discussed as a sui generis case. This week will also be the opportunity to present the outline of your Final Paper and get some feedback on it in preparation for submission.

Samuel Huntington defined "wave of democratization" as the transitions of a group of states from non-democratic to democratic regimes occurring within a limited time period. This session will be dedicated to the three waves of democratization identified during the 19th and 20th centuries. First wave: 1828-1926. Second wave: 1934-1962. Third wave: 1974-1991. Students will analyse developments that triggered those transformations and their regional characteristics.

The session will deal with political systems’ transitions in 21st century, with special focus on the Arab Spring, revival of nationalism and increasing role of religion in shaping political systems. The final part of the session will be dedicated to the discussion on the much-talked crisis of democracy.